Electronic chassis which house electronic components for high speed telecommunication and networking applications typically include two card guides mounted between side walls of the chassis, one located adjacent the top of the chassis and the other located adjacent the bottom of the chassis. The card guides receive and support a plurality of vertically oriented circuit boards that are typically inserted into the chassis in between the two card guides. Conventional card guides typically include small openings that allow some room air to flow through the chassis. Nonetheless, the design of conventional card guides typically restricts the amount of airflow through the chassis and therefore does not provide the required amount of cooling of the circuit boards within the chassis.
Moreover, conventional electronic chassis typically include an air filter that is positioned immediately below the bottom card guide. Fans located at the top of the chassis cause air to flow upward from the bottom of the chassis through the air filter. However, the air that flows through the filter and into the chassis is typically not evenly distributed along each of the circuit boards. This may result in overheating of some of the circuit boards within the chassis.
Finally, attempts have been made to provide electromagnetic interference (EMI) shields that are positioned along the top and the bottom of the chassis to prevent electromagnetic emissions from exiting the chassis. However, conventional EMI shields typically restrict the amount of airflow through the chassis.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an electronic chassis apparatus that overcomes the disadvantages described above.